I faced forward and did as he said, eased up with the clutch and pressed down on the gas pedal. When I felt the car moving, I pressed too hard and the car jerked then stalled out.

“Oh, hell!” I had the clutch and the brake down to the floor. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Stop laughing at me, Devraj!”

“I’m not laughing.”

He was so laughing. Hard.

“Okay, okay. Let’s do this first. Take your feet off the pedals.”

“Are you crazy?” I shrieked.

“The car is off, so we’re in no danger. Take your feet off.”

“Alright.”

“And close your eyes.”

I snapped my head to him. “What are you planning?”

“Nothing nefarious,” he crooned, edging closer, one hand on my thigh. “I want you to relax.”

“Your glamour doesn’t work on me. I’ve told you that.”

“Just a little guided imagery to help you relax.”

I pressed the back of my head to the headrest with a huff of frustration. “It won’t work.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” He tugged a lock of my hair. “Close your eyes, love.”

“This isn’t going to work.” I closed my eyes anyway.

“So little faith.” His hand on my thigh tightened, but didn’t move up, thank goodness, because then my mind would’ve been somewhere else for sure. Already, his proximity and body heat and electric energy filled up the space with a heady concoction of sexy vampire.

“Imagine you’re walking through the courtyard to your greenhouse.” His voice was close to my ear, rumbling low and deep with a hypnotic tempo. “But instead of the door you normally see leading into the greenhouse, there is a door made entirely of golden light. When you open the door, you step through into a wilderness made of vibrant color. A field of purple wildflowers wave in a summer wind to your right, a brook with crystal-blue water rushes into the woods to your left. The trees on the leaves rustle as you walk barefoot on the plush grass.”

He went on, detailing the beauty of a fairy forest where magic lived and thrived. My body eased at the cadence of his sensual voice.

Finally, he pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. “Now open your eyes, beautiful.”

I did, heart skipping at his endearment.

“How do you feel now?” he asked.

“Good.” What an understatement.

Damn, this man. If someone had told me I’d let a guy teach me to drive after he’d once hit me with his car, I’d have told them they’d lost their damn mind. My sisters had begged to teach me in the past to my constant, resounding no. But here I was with little more than a nudge from him, slipping into a relaxed state with nothing more than a few words. I could barely believe it.

But Devraj. He was the unbelievable. The man I never expected but wanted more than anything. More than anyone.

“Good.” He squeezed my thigh then eased away from me back into his seat, giving me space. “Now, let’s try it again.”

I did, only to stall the car again. But this time, I laughed rather than got nervous. I’d actually made it more than two feet.

“Again,” he said calmly, his gentle demeanor seeping into me.

By my fourth try, I actually managed to shift into second gear.

“I’m doing it. I’m driving!”

He laughed. “You are. Now, as you come to the corner of this row, just ease down on the brakes, no need to downshift here, then speed up a little, that’s it. Now in this straightaway, let’s go for third.”

“You sure? That’s so fast.” I cut him a sharp look. “No laughing, Devraj!”

But he couldn’t help himself. “You’re right. It’s so fast. Let’s see what you can do.”

I cut the corner a little sharp, but not on purpose, pulling Devraj over to my side. He just laughed again, but I managed to right us and gently speed up, shifting into third gear as he’d instructed.

“I can’t believe I’m doing it!” I couldn’t take my eyes off the road. Well, the parking lot. But the crazy feelings of elation pumping through my veins had me giddy and grinning like a loon. “I can’t believe this.”

Someone pulled into the parking lot a hundred yards away, so I screeched to a halt, jerking us both forward, the seatbelts locking and pulling us back.

“I got it,” I told him, pressing the clutch and brake to the floor and restarting the car before easing in the opposite direction of the other car.

“Yeah, you got it. I knew you would.”

That’s when I finally chanced a glance at him, and my insides melted at the blazing look of pride and adoration on his handsome face.

After my third lap around the parking lot, I was so high, feeling beyond confident at this. Chuckling at myself, my fear. I mean, yeah, we hadn’t left the parking lot and the thought of cruising on an actual road made me want to vomit, but I was really driving a car. I did a fourth lap then pulled into a parking spot at the end of the lot. I put it into park and turned it off before leaping over the console to straddle Devraj’s lap.

My skyrocketing excitement didn’t seem to phase him. He grabbed my hip with one hand and cupped my nape with the other, diving into my mouth with a soft groan. I rocked my hips on his quickly hardening erection, the denim between us giving the perfect friction between my legs.

“Devraj,” I nearly cried, dipping my mouth to his neck and giving him a suckling kiss below his ear.

He hissed in a breath, thrusting his hips up and grabbing hold of my hair, but not pulling me away.

“I can’t believe I did that,” I said, still licking and sucking his neck, the salty taste of him driving me mad.

“I can.” He nuzzled into my hair and nipped my earlobe. “You’re incredible.” His hand on my hip slipped under my T-shirt and mounded my breast over my bra, pinching my nipple lightly. “Amazing.”

“It was just the parking lot.” I scooped both my hands under his shirt, lifting so I could see his gorgeous chest while my hands roved frantically.

“You overcame a lifelong fear in minutes, Isadora. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” His eyes glowed silver, his voice deep and growly. Then his gaze dropped where he unsnapped my jeans and unzipped me. “Why did you wear jeans today?” He slid his hand beneath my panties, skating his middle finger through my wetness.

My eyes slipped closed when he glided to my entrance and pumped a finger inside me. I’d worn jeans because I’d planned on not having sex with him today. I needed a break after last night’s earth-shaking experience where I’d felt him capture my heart at the same time he’d conquered my body.

He gripped my chin and whispered, “Open your eyes.”

I did, but I wanted to look away again.

“You never wear jeans.” He slid out of me, circling my clit with my own slickness.

I didn’t say anything, mouth falling open on a sigh. It was true.

“You wanted some space from me after last night?”

I bit my lip as he pumped two fingers inside me, nice and slow. I should’ve known this Stygorn would’ve seen through my sad attempt at creating boundaries. All it did was make it more difficult to get him inside me, and I was regretting my ridiculous outfit choices with every pump of his long fingers.

“No space between us, love.” His voice was soft, melodic, but his expression was fierce. Determined. Dominant. “Do you understand?”

I nodded, riding his hand with little pumps, gripping his shoulders tight.

“Now, get your fucking jeans off so I can come inside you.”

I shifted off him onto the other seat. I’d barely wiggled them over my bum before he’d grabbed hold of my panties and jeans together and ripped them off my legs. He had his jeans unzipped and pulled down below his hips, his cock out, before I’d made a move to straddle him.

He gripped my waist to pull me across but I shoved away his hands. From the moment we met, he’d been a giver. From baking, to his kindness, to teaching me to drive, to his lovemaking, he was constantly giving. Always giving. I wanted to give something to him.

Maneuvering till I leaned over the console, I wrapped my hand around his cock.

“Isadora,” he growled, thrusting up into my hand.

I ignored his warning, stroking once before I slid my mouth over the head and down his shaft till it bumped the back of my throat. He hissed in a breath.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” His hand cradled my skull, pressing gently as I bobbed and sucked him deep.

I moaned at the pleasure of giving to this man, slowing my tempo so I could take him deeper each time.

“Christ, you’re going to kill me.”

When I came back up and sucked the tip hard before letting it pop free, he made a feral sound deep in his chest.

“I can’t take it.”

He moved me up, grabbed me around the waist, and hauled me onto his lap. I went easily, straddling his lap. He gripped my hip with one hand, his cock with the other, then pushed me down as he thrust up.

We both groaned in unison at the drugging sensation of his hardness plunging inside me. He reclined the seat to give us room.

“Ride me,” he ordered, his hands on my bare hips, moving me up and down.

I skated my hands back underneath his shirt, hiking it up so I could watch his abdomen tighten with each thrust inside me. The man’s body was a marvel, but the man himself—his warm eyes, his deep compassion, his lethal power—was breathtaking. Bone-melting. Soul-stirring. Heart-stealing.

He captured my gaze and held me with him as he rocked up, our bodies riding a frantic rhythm, both of us climbing faster and faster. I came with such lightning speed it shocked me. I cried out. Devraj wrapped my nape and pulled me down, devouring my moans as he ground into me with punishing thrusts. After he came on a deep groan, he sucked on my tongue. A devouring, marking kiss. When he finally let my mouth go, he kept me close, tightly held in his arms.